UEFA Nations League Preview: New European football tournament set for kick-off this week

The UEFA Nations League – the newest competition in international football – is all set to get underway this week with some truly mouth watering prospects. And this coming Friday (7 September) will see two intriguing ties take place, with World Cup host nation Russia travelling to take on Turkey, while Romania welcome Montenegro.

Before you go any further, head over to the Oddsshark website, find your favourite betting site and get your account up and running using your credit card. As a new customer and with the UEFA Nations League set to get underway, there should be a wide range of promotions and offers available to you.

Where should I be investing my money?

First up, Turkey take on Russia in their first ever UEFA Nations League fixture. Russia were arguably the surprise package of this year’s World Cup, making it all the way to the quarter-finals before being eliminated by runners-up Croatia after a penalty shoot-out.

And they will be looking to carry that momentum into their first competitive clash since the World Cup, against Turkey. The Turks failed to make it to the World Cup earlier this summer and, while this may not be their strongest ever side, will be confident of a strong start to this latest tournament in front of their own fans.

And with home advantage, it is indeed Turkey who come into the match as favourites to make a winning start to the UEFA Nations League. You can more than double your money by backing Turkey to take the points at a price of 2.30, with Russia out at 3.25 to record a victory on the road – a draw would look to be the least likely result, with a stalemate priced highest at 3.50, according to Oddsshark.

Romanian manager Mircea Lucescu has taken over at the helm of the Turkish ship and will be eager to make a positive start in the dug-out. While it is never easy trying to predict the exact score line of any given match, a 2-1 win for Turkey is priced competitively at 9.50, thereby offering close to a ten-fold return on any investment.

In addition, you could more than double your money again by backing over 2.5 goals in the game at 2.35, while under 2.5 goals is at the shorter price of 1.57. Both teams to score also gives you the chance to double your cash at a price of 2.00.

Romania looking for strong start against Montenegro

One of the in-form sides this calendar year has been Romania and they will be looking to keep that run going against Montenegro this Friday in their UEFA Nations League curtain raiser. Romania have won four games in a row and will be confident of extending that winning streak on Friday night in front of their own fans.

Israel, Sweden, Chile and Finland have all been defeated by a well organised Romanian outfit, and Montenegro do not look like they have the kind of technical quality that could trouble their hosts with too much frequency. Cosmin Contra’s side are the overwhelming favourites to get off to a winning start, with Romania priced at just 1.83 to take all three points.

Romania, by comparison, are all the way out at 6.00 to pick up a win on the road, while a draw is priced in the middle at 3.20. Montenegro are on a six match winless run, although it should be pointed out they narrowly beat Romania 1-0 during the World Cup qualifiers.

That does not look likely away from their home base, however, and a comfortable 2-0 win for Romania is priced at 7.00, meaning that a US$5 bet would lead to a US$35 pay out. Under 2.5 goals in the game is priced low at just 1.53, although you could potentially more than double your money by backing over 2.5 goals at 2.40.

Given Romani’s excellent recent run of form and Montenegro’s alarming slide over recent months, this should be a relatively straightforward encounter for the home side. You can back Romania to win to nil (without Montenegro scoring a goal) at a price of 2.60.

And veteran Romanian forward Claudiu Keseru would look to be their most potent weapon in attack. The Ludogorets striker is at just 2.87 to find the back of the net at any time during the match, while you can back the 31-year-old to either score the first or last goal of the game at a competitive price of 6.00.